Investments made by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) into the local economy have reached more than £1bn, resulting in thousands of jobs, new quality homes and boosting businesses in the city-region.
Greater Manchester’s investment funds have so far made £1.2bn investments, with the figure continuing to rise through fund recycling as money is repaid and reinvested into new projects. New investments continue to be made, with teams working to ensure investments help to support businesses and developers in the region.
The Housing Investment Loan Fund is on track to deliver 10,000 new homes across the city-region, with £700m invested into residential property so far. A total of 9,571 new homes have been developed to date, with the fund starting at £300m in its inception back in 2015. To date, this has been recycled over two times. Alongside significant investment into housing in the core of the conurbation, the fund has helped support developments such as the renovation of Alexander House, in Old Trafford, which will deliver 116 apartments and 311 new properties on Don Street, in Middleton. The Fund has also supported smaller housing developers to deliver schemes such as the redevelopment of an old motor garage on Ladhill Lane in Oldham.
A total of £110m has also been invested into businesses across sectors ranging from digital to manufacturing, supporting the creation of 8,347 quality jobs and ensuring businesses can continue to grow in the city-region. Businesses to benefit from the fund include clean tech company Vector Homes, who are developing sustainable and affordable smart houses, customer care business FM Outsource in Bury and FinTech business, BankiFi.
Over £350m has been invested into commercial property schemes and businesses, including Citylabs on Oxford Road which is increasing the much needed supply of lab space for businesses in Greater Manchester.
The funds have also committed £20m into social impact initiatives such as the Growth Impact Fund, designed to support social enterprises and aimed at tackling inequality and promoting racial justice.
As new investments continue to be made Greater Manchester leaders are urging new applicants with viable business or development proposals to come forward and apply.
Councillor David Molyneux, GMCA Lead for Investment and Resources, said: “Greater Manchester’s Investment Funds are a fantastic example of devolution working in practise. Through the funds, we are able to maximise the impact of public sector funding.
“The funds have helped to unlock the delivery of thousands of new homes and have secured more than 200 properties for vulnerable people such as those experiencing homelessness or survivors of domestic violence. We have also been able to use funding to support business growth and the creation of thousands of jobs.
“We are now urging other organisations, businesses and developers with viable proposals to please get in touch and find out how we can support you.”
A number of businesses have told how the investment funds have helped their organisations to flourish, while creating new jobs for people living in the city-region.
Nathan Feddy, CEO of Vector Homes, commented: “With the support of GMCA we’ve been able to innovate and work closely with collaborators in the construction materials ecosystem in Manchester to develop and build our low cost, quick build, highly sustainable housing system prototype. 2023 has all been about executing our plan and we expect to make a big impact on the housing market in 2024.”
Gingerbread Properties, who bring property back into use to provide homes for vulnerable people such as care leavers or those experiencing homelessness, have also praised the fund for helping the organisation to grow.
Julie Talbot, Director at Gingerbread Properties, said: “The Greater Manchester Investment Fund supports us in being able to develop demand led housing for local authorities within GMCA — either as social housing for ethical letting agencies or supported housing for local authorities or registered providers.
“At the start of working with the fund they took a bespoke approach to understand our strategy and how we work and designed a product that would enable our delivery model. Working with a fund who has the same goals as our end users brings a fresh perspective and pace to projects.
“The flexibility of the product as well as the support and advice of the team means we can focus on delivery of schemes that meet our end users requirements. We are excited about working with the fund moving forwards to create homes and meet GMCA goals.”
GMCA’s unique approach to investment exemplifies how the city-region’s devolved powers can respond flexibly and creatively to local priorities, allowing the authority to control the allocation of government resources.
In total, the Investment Fund has helped to generate approximately £41m of income for the city-region. This is used to invest back into different local authority areas to support with Greater Manchester’s wider housing priorities such as affordable housing, empty homes and rogue landlords, while £9.5m is ringfenced for reinvestment into businesses.
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